


Simpatico

by IamShadow21



Series: Teapot 'verse [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Books, Challenge: helmet_fest2008, Cookie Fic, Deleted Scene, F/M, Gen, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Libraries, Missing Scene, Pre-Het, Studying, Teapot 'verse, Teapot 'verse Cookie Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-21
Updated: 2008-04-21
Packaged: 2018-01-07 06:05:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1116386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IamShadow21/pseuds/IamShadow21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione's not yet used to studying alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Simpatico

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Teapot](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1113535) by [IamShadow21](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IamShadow21/pseuds/IamShadow21), [kath_ballantyne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kath_ballantyne/pseuds/kath_ballantyne). 



> Written for helmet_fest2008's Hermione month, for the prompt "Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration".
> 
> A little Teapot 'verse cookie, set at Hogwarts mid February, 1999. So, a couple of weeks after Ron and Harry came out ([12\. Confessions/Consolation](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1113535/chapters/2242295)) and a couple of weeks before Ron's birthday ([18\. Presents](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1113535/chapters/2242422)). Third person, past tense, because that's the way it wrote itself, and I can't be bothered changing it.

It was late; very late, actually. Far too soon, she’d have to relocate to the Gryffindor Common Room, and she couldn’t take most of the books she had scattered about the desk with her. She’d need a wheelbarrow.

She tried to ignore the pouring of the sands through the little hourglass in front of her. She had less than half an hour, she judged. She’d better make it worth it.

 _Transfiguration_ , she decided, choosing it purely because the textbook she’d used for that essay was half a foot thick, and impossible to carry up a flight of stairs without Lightening it or using a Levitation Charm. Madam Pince could always sniff out when the books had been spelled in some way, and rained down unholy vengeance on the transgressor. Too much magic around the books caused the tomes to deteriorate, apparently, and made them bad-tempered into the bargain. Given that Madam Pince held the power to ban her from access to the printed and scribed word, Hermione wasn’t going to risk it. She opened _Morphological and Transfigurative Theory_ with reverence. She was even wearing the protective gloves that most of the students either threw away or used as place markers, rather than putting on.

Her Transfiguration essay was due in only two weeks, and she wanted to check her facts again, just in case. She couldn’t stand it if she failed over some silly mistake she could easily fix. 

Transfiguration wasn’t that hard, really, so long as you followed some basic rules. It was always easier, for example, if the thing you were attempting to Transfigure bore some resemblance to the desired result. That was why young children learning deliberate Transfigurative magic were given tasks like turning toothpicks into needles, or beetles into buttons. Although one involved two inanimate forms, and one was animate into inanimate, the principle was the same.

Also, the closer the original object was to the result, in material, appearance and size, the more likely it was to _stay_ Transfigured. For example, if one wished to turn a cartwheel into a coin, or vice versa, it was much easier to perform an Engorgement or Reduction Charm on the object to make it the correct size before Transfiguring it rather than attempting a straight Transfiguration. Otherwise, the object would resist being manipulated into such a radically different size and form, and would likely change back. Also, the drain of power on the witch or wizard was much greater.

There were exceptions to Gamp’s Law, of course. Food was one. Although liquids such as water and wine could be conjured, food of any nutritional value was impossible to Transfigure from inedible objects, the reason being, of course, that it wasn’t really food, just an object _mimicking_ food with the aid of magic. A carrot Transfigured from a stick of wood would have all the nutritional value of a stick of wood. Food could be Engorged or Duplicated (albeit with diminishing nutritional content), but not created by Transfiguration. Certain plants, while _usually_ toxic could be _rendered_ safe by Transfiguritive magic; for example, the leaves of the Rhubarb plant could be made edible by transfiguring the oxalic acid into a neutral substance, such as water. This was not considered a true Transfiguration, however, since it only affected a chemical component of the object, but left it otherwise unchanged.

The second exception was – 

“Excuse me?”

Hermione closed her eyes, and wrestled with the familiar sensation of annoyance that came with being interrupted in the middle of a particularly interesting or productive line of thought.

“I’m sorry, I know you’re busy,” the voice continued, apologetically, “but I was looking for Dalynn’s _Charms and Curses: The Ethical Divide_. It wasn’t on the shelf, or checked out, and I wondered if maybe...”

Hermione looked up to see Terry Boot standing opposite her table. He was worrying his lower lip between his teeth, and studying her, as though he was truly unsure as to whether she was going to shout at him or not.

Realising she was scowling in what probably was a very ferocious manner, she shook herself and ran a hand through her wild hair. “Oh, yes, of course,” she stammered, flustered. Quickly scanning the piles of books in front of her, she extricated a volume from the bottom of a teetering stack. “Here,” she said, holding it out. When he took it, his fingers brushed hers, and even through the light cotton glove, she felt the fleeting warmth.

He turned to leave, then hesitated. “I... If it wouldn’t disturb you, I could study here. Then if you needed the book, you could just ask for it back.”

“All right,” Hermione agreed. To be honest, she’d welcome the company. Even after a year away from school and six months back at Hogwarts, it felt strange to study without Harry nearby. Without Ron – She stopped that line of thought abruptly. She didn’t need _Ron_ for anything. Didn’t want him. Didn’t miss him. She did _not_.

“You’re writing about Gamp’s Law too, then?” Terry said, obviously able to read a little of her essay, even upside down.

“Yes,” she said cagily, waiting for the questions she’d become used to over the years. _Can I read yours? Can I copy? Just a little bit, Hermione, please? Could you write my summary for me?_

“Have you read Dumbledore’s responses to Gamp’s early hypotheses?” Terry asked eagerly. 

Hermione blinked. “No, I haven’t.”

“They didn’t get on _at all_. Wrote some _blistering_ criticisms of each other’s work. Madam Pince has all the old issues of _Transfiguration Today_ archived and cross-referenced, and I found them a month ago. Though Gamp’s Law held up in the end, Dumbledore had some pretty good points. You should have a look; I think you’d really enjoy them.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said, breaking into a smile. Terry grinned back, before turning his attention to his essay, leaving her to her thoughts and _Morphological and Transfigurative Theory_.

 _When Transfiguring an object_ , the heavy book advised, _one must always consider simpatico, that is, its compatibility, with the object desired. Although an incompatible Transfiguration may result in temporary usefulness, or even a certain quality of radiance and uniqueness, for long-term stability and effectiveness the more similar the objects are in their qualities, the more durable and balanced the Transfiguration will be._

i


End file.
